In about 240 AD the temple of Mithras, or, the cult of Mithras, was built on the east bank of the Walbrook stream in Londinium (Museum of London). The romans believed that each individuals place had a “genius”, which the rational powers and abilities of every human being were attributed to their soul, and this “genius” was the gods (Lewis). Mithras was the god of heavenly light who was adopted to the Roman world from Persia and the eastern Mediterranean. The cult of Mithras was organized as a secret society for men only, mostly army man, which demanded honesty, purity and courage from its followers (Museum of London).
During the 4th century, the finest sculptures were buried under the temple floor; it is unknown whether Mithraists buried them for protection or by later worshippers out of respect for a past religion (Museum of London). The temple of Mithras is perhaps the most famous of all twentieth-century Roman discoveries in the City of London, during rebuilding work in 1954.
With the withdrawal of the Roman Empire on the city of London came also the extraction of the Roman gods faith. Medieval London was taken by people who prayed to saints asking them to intercede for them with God. London’s first cathedral built by the Anglo-Saxon was destroyed by fire in 1087. Following the fire the church is rebuilt again by the Normans, after 1241 recruits began almost immediately on extending the east end in the new gothic style (Museum of London). To show they were devout Christians, Londoners went on pilgrimages to distant shrines where the body of a saint or some other holy relic was preserved. Many of the saints were adopted from the religion in different countries, but London’s own saints were displayed in the common seal of the c...
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...ity a taste of different believes and costumes. The romans have different gods to worship, who preform different tasks for their every day life necessities (Orr). While the medieval Londoners were more concerned on the state of the soul and the display that religion portrayed for the city of London. In some way we can assume and consider that the roman gods are equivalents to the saints of medieval London.
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There are many distinct differences between Medieval society as illustrated by Achen in 800 AD and Roman society as illustrated by Pompeii in 79 AD, with some similarities. There are many aspects to examine, such as education, religion, tolerance, social classes, materialism, view of time, infra-structure, trade and cities.
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It was Roman myths of origin which imparted the most quintessentially Roman qualities onto the city and its people. Since Rome’s founders first exhibited the desire for conflict, so too has Rome. The sense of divine protection of such importance to the city’s people, is a direct product of the creation myths. The myths also provided evidence of the honour found within rusticity, giving rise to the value Romans placed on thrift and simple living. The myths of origin also stipulated the nobility of Rome’s founders, who would come to reflect the nobility of later Romans. The broad implications of the creation myths on Roman society, were felt most sharply by women, who were subjugated throughout the city’s history. Rome is deeply reflective of its myths of origin, as it was the myths which shaped the city into what it became.
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The First Phase (753 BC to 500 BC) - The first phase of Roman religion dated from the founding of the city to the early republic. This phase occurred before the Roman civilization had really adopted the Greek ways and so the religious practices of this time consisted of only three gods and these gods were known as the Archaic Triad. The gods of the archaic Triad were Jupiter (Jove) ,Mars and Quirinus. These gods had their Greek counterparts and would later be identified with them. Jupiter was the supreme master god and so he was associated with Zeus of Greek mythology. Ares was the god of power and war and so he was associated with his Greek counterpart, Ares and Quirinus was the god of the Roman people in general and he had no Greek counterpart. Mars was valued and worshipped more by the conquering and warlike Romans than Ares was to the Greeks and ,as a result, he had The Fields of Mars named after him. The Fields of Mars was located outside of Rome and it is where the soldiers would train.
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Nearly 300 years separated Ignatius of Antioch and Augustine of Hippo, during that time a lot changed for Christians in the Roman Empire. The church moved from being a criminal religious organization, to a legal religious organization, to the only legal public religion. Christians during this time were always engaging the culture around them—religion, politics, literature, education, etc. This paper will describe the Christian Roman religion before Constantine and after Constantine.
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